So one Monday night (May 20,2019) , someone sent me a message that Torgbui Dr. Asamoah “Baby Jet” Gyan had retired from international football. I was shocked but I tagged it as “Fake News.” Then again people kept texting and asking what I thought about it (me naa in my mind it hasn’t happened oo). So I decided to find out for myself and there it was, very much true and I’m like this is BAD…. After carefully reading the press release, I knew straightaway that it had to do with the captain’s band. Once again I was like “we’ve messed this up.”Personally,I think the timing of the whole thing was bad and there are going to be consequences.
The “so-called” election is not only an insult to the achievements of Asamoah Gyan but an insult to the intellect of Ghanaians. Where in this world has “General Captain” been seen on a team sheet? The elevation is a fallacy and is one that is completely unnecessary. With just under a month to a tournament, which is seen as a must win for Ghana,the coach decides to strip a player who is just the nation’s all-time top goalscorer but also the man who has carried this team on his back for the best part of a decade. (The least said about the selection of strikers, the better).
If not for the intervention of the father of the land, H.E. Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo, we’d be going into the tournament without our most experienced,reliable and dangerous striker. Thanks to the “General Coach’s” intervention, Baby Jet rescinded his decision, made himself available for selection and accepted the “General Captain” role. In effect, we’ll never see Gyan wear the captain’s band again. This is a direct repeat of AFCON ’92, when the same James Akwasi Appiah was stripped off the captaincy in favour of Abedi Ayew Pele (rings a bell eh?) Now that the “general captain” has accepted his “elevation” (I prefer demotion) and the “general coach” has tasked the team with ending a 37 year wait for glory………will we get to see an AFCON trophy return to Ghana in the Year of Return? OR are we in for heartbreak? We’ll know from 21st June-19th July…. God Bless Our Homeland Ghana and make us great and strong………..
Your favourite noisemaker,
Dave……….
THE HUB 